I looked away and couldn't look back. Not if I wanted to stem the waves of nauseous terror that washed over me. My teeth ached from how hard I was clenching them together.
The guards cursed, Gayriel gasped, and I still couldn't look at what drew their horror. I was busy noticing a small stem sticking out from between two of the flagging stones that made the street and trying not to throw up.
"I don't think that is Grim any longer," Cillumn's voice announced from behind me, from the medic hall. He must have been looking for me. "Are you alright?" he murmured approaching my side.
"No." I didn't feel alright, not at all.
"What in the six realms has happened to him?" Gayriel whispered.
"Looks like the same thing that is happening to our shifter friends," I sensed Cillumn shake his head. "And those fools thought this was not our problem."
"What is powerful enough to do that to a dragon?" one of the guards asked. It didn't sound as though he was particularly expecting an answer, but Gayriel twitched as if coming to an important realization.
"The master," she muttered. "Cillumn, I need to find Dynarys...and Illaise."
"Dynarys is in the battle, I seen him take off after the first attack."
"Fine, Illaise then."
Cillumn hesitated. Above us an angry screech peeled out, followed by the meaty sound of flesh hitting flesh. Suddenly I found myself wanting to dodge back into the medic wing, before debris...or a dragon could fall upon me.
"Are you certain?" he asked when the noise subsided slightly. "She is not happy with you. When I left she was threatening bodily harm."
Gayriel grunted. "I'm sure she was, but yes, I am certain. It was her son who had a hand in all of this. According to her own logic she should be responsible for this aftermath."
"I don't think Illaise's logic is for herself," Cillumn grumbled. It was a strange thing to listen to, such irreverent talk about an Alpha who was undoubtedly strong. Of course neither of them was a Shifter, so that accounted for some of it. But even the two guards seemed unconcerned. Maybe it was a common attitude in the Amber Aerie, maybe that was why Cillumn had seemed so unsurprised at my position within my own pack. My old pack, I reminded myself.
"Come," he called, tugging at my arm when I didn't respond. "Maybe you should walk ahead of me. You are doing really well Lis, just keep focused on the ground, I'll watch your back."
With that we moved left along the street. Skirting around rows of potted tangerines and lemons that grew around pillars and chiseled stone masterpieces. Odd that I had not noticed the little details of the aerie before now. It was so different from that of the Onyx Aerie, but I was focused on other matters. Now I latched onto the way the fruit on the branches swayed in the dimming light, and the beautiful slopes and smooth curls of the stone carvings.
We ran past two alleys, myself, guided by Cillumn, followed by Gayriel and the guards, before turning onto a wider street and proceeding toward a tall building that I recognized. It was where Cillumn had lead me for the meeting with the Archon to begin with.
I recognized Illaise immediately, though she had changed to wolf form and paced, with the rest of her pack in front of the building. Gray eyes turned upward, watching the skies pensively. Her silver fur was long and it ruffled as she moved. A beautiful sight if not for the overwhelming desire to lower myself to the ground and display my submission. Such a move was not logical now, but it did not stop my instincts from attempting to guide my behavior.
"Illaise," Gayriel called from behind me. The urge to submit intensified as the gray eyes turned my way...and narrowed.
I was still fighting the need to run far and fast from the battle overhead, the glare the outsider Alpha sent me nearly pushed me over the edge. A reassuring hand placed on my back was the only thing halting me.
"Peace Lis, breath."
Somehow Cillumn sensed what I needed. Which could have been because in my terror I had forgotten to shield my emotions. I tried to work around to concealing them now, but there were simply too many and too strong. I did not have the calm or focus necessary for such a task.
Illaise flashed to human form. "You traitorous bitch, you have called me here to face my death," she snarled, stalking toward our group. I clutched my satchel closer, but did not step back from her path. It wasn't me she was aiming for anyway.
Gayriel stood her ground as well, though she appeared slightly resigned. Both of her guards stepped in front of her. I was surprised for a moment until I remembered that she was the Alpha's mate. This Aerie's Alpha's mate. She technically had more power in this interaction...socially, it could never be said that she had more physical power.
"Careful Illaise, you are attributing a lot of things to my power. You think I control this?" Gayriel flung a hand toward the battle. The roars and screeches were fading, they were moving off. I assumed the Amber Aerie Dragon's had defended well enough to chase any enemy from the skies above their home. I didn't look however, not yet, I might see this mutilated dragon and my imagination was doing a fantastic job picturing a dragon in the condition of the shifters I had seen. Subtly I loosened the tie on my satchel and slid my hand inside. I did not have time to arrange a capsule for my dart shooter, but I had other tricks in that bag. Darts would not pierce a dragon's scales anyhow, but the dragon's were not the only enemy that I felt threatened by at the moment.
Illaise stopped three steps away, fingers tapping her naked side as though wishing for some weapon she often held there. "You were involved with the disaster at the Onyx Aerie, involved with the dragon that leads this attack. It is reasonable to assume you have ties to this battle as well."
"Involved? Do you even remember what happened to me there? Or do you happily make up your own version of history?" Gayriel growled. "He tried to kill me, to bleed me out, and he was aided by your son."
Now I was confused. Dynarys had tried to kill his mate? These people were crazy. Why had Cillumn even brought me here? They were so tangled in their insanity, they weren't going to be any help for Adda.
"Besides, I am certain that this dragon is no longer Grim, he has been mutilated like the shifters. Something more powerful guides him now," Cillumn reasoned.
"Kurath..." Illaise shook her head. "If you do not wish to see my end, then why did you summon me? Are you committed to wasting my time?"
"We have a common enemy, it makes sense to cooperate."
"Cooperation implies an equal share in the work. What is it you think you will be able to do against this?" Illaise gestured.
"I will give you this information, when Kurath betrayed Dynarys he spoke of a master. The master was who Grim sought, and, I believe who did this to him."
Illaise snorted. "You think that is enough to contribute your share? Why did Grim seek this master? And why does he attack now?"
I frowned. Why did he attack now? Something was pulling at the back of my mind. I knew the answer to this. Fear distracted me, and frustration. Why did Gayriel insist on Illaise's cooperation? She seemed volatile at best. What good would her help be?
"What exactly is it that you can bring to the cooperation? All I have seen thus far is resistance and insults." I found myself asking. I blinked, a little surprised at my own words. I was thinking it yes, but I didn't expect it to come out.
"You question me pup? I could eat you for my next meal," Illaise bristled predictably, rising taller in all her nudity, her eyes flashing challenge. This is what I got for not minding my tongue, I had drawn attention to myself, I had challenged her. And now I either had to submit publicly, or...
The hand I had placed in my satchel twitched. I found the bundle straight away, marked with several loops of twisted twine. This one had been created in a rush, with no room for testing, and I had no idea if it would work or not. But I needed to prove myself.
Before Illaise could guess my intentions I pulled the bundle out and tossed it behind her, into the group of shifter warriors that waited in the background. There was a satisfying crash of clay breaking and smoke immediately filled the air just as I planned. I had the irrational urge to jump up and down. My creation worked. The smoke was the result of a jar of highly powerful acid I had reduced breaking and mixing with a full pot of dried moonblossoms. The warriors watched the progress unconcerned for a moment, not seeing the danger.
It only took one deep breath before the first of the warriors collapsed. He was followed by six others in quick succession. Those far enough away to be out of the smoke's influence backed farther from the scene, casting frantic looks at their leader.
Illaise stopped her progression toward me, fury pulled her face tight, but her eyes were wary of my satchel and the hand I had replaced within it, just in case.
"You have just made an enemy little shifter," she growled.
I shook my head at her, denying her words. "They only sleep, and very briefly. That," I nodded toward the bundle, it had stopped smoking now and lay innocuously before us, "among my other creations, is what we have to contribute to this fight. I ask again what is it that you will give?" I did not mention that the smoke wouldn't likely be effective against the creatures. The possessed shifters didn't work like other living things.
Or did they? I thought back to the female creature we had faced in the forest. She hadn't bled as I had expected, so something was notably wrong with her circulatory system, but she had been breathing. Could that be the answer? Or at least something I could work with? Ideas started flowing through my mind, but it was not the time for tinkering with plans.
Illaise did not look like a woman willing to bargain, she looked like a woman ready to tear my throat out. When the first of the warriors stirred from his slumber and rolled over, rising to his feet and shaking his head, she watched for a long moment.
"You are a dangerous shifter," she admitted at last, a spark of what I hoped was respect and not an idea of how to kill me in the future, flashed in her eyes. The rest of the men were rising now. They were not looking at me with as much kindness. No doubt I had insulted their masculinity and warrior prowess by laying them out so easily in front of their alpha. Cillumn growled low behind me, making yet another claim upon me, this one of protection...I would have to speak with him later I decided.
Gayriel muttered something low, for my ears only. I couldn't make out her words, but I did remember that she had wanted me to solidify the woman's cooperation.
"I can create a weapon that will take out the possessed shifters, but in exchange I require help freeing my sister from whatever evil is causing this. She has been missing for over a week now," I bit my lip, hoping I could make good on my promise. As it stood my current weapon could barely be called effective.
Illaise cringed and shook her head sadly. I was surprised by the show of emotion, but I didn't like the feeling I got that she was writing Adda off as dead. She watched me speculatively for a long while and then nodded. Either deciding to go along with my delusion, or that I could be useful even if she believed my sister already gone.
"We have tracked the origins of the possessions and have the location of the enemies camp. It is swarming with Quatori and dozens, perhaps hundreds of our destroyed kin. I do not know where all of the shifters there have come from," she shook her head. "We have not been able to find a way to infiltrate it. Or even to prevent the creatures from bringing new shifters in. Not for lack of trying...but perhaps with a more effective weapon...I will trade you my information for your...unique...aid."
I hesitated. The Archon had made it clear that this mission would be led by Dragon Lords, Illaise was clearly making her own task. Would it be a betrayal to accept this bargain? Did it matter? I didn't owe the Archon any loyalty...Cillumn however. But Illaise had experience with the creatures, and information that I needed. Until we had returned to the aerie the Dragon Lords hadn't even known of them.
"It is a deal," I agreed at last, sealing my fate.